Most of us take it on faith that our military is the best in the world. But if asked to state in detail how ready we are to face certain challenges from around the globe, few of us would know how to answer.
How prepared is each branch — Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — to handle its missions? What is our nuclear capability? What are the threats we face in Asia, the…

It’s good to be No. 1. But as any former champ will tell you, you have to avoid becoming complacent if you want to stay ahead of the pack. First-place finishes aren’t guaranteed. Just ask Hong Kong.
Every year since 1995, the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal have measured the state of economic freedom in the world. We go country by country, poring over the…

Ever heard of the Agriculture Risk Coverage program? How about the Price Loss Coverage program? You’re paying for them.
Along with the Conservation Technical Assistance program, the Biological and Environmental Research program, and the USDA Catfish Inspection program.
The list goes on, but why have I highlighted these particular entries? Because of the millions we can…

If you’re like most Americans, you’re enjoying the fact that it costs a lot less to fill up your car’s gas tank these days. If you’re a fan of big government, you may feel a bit ambivalent, though.
Why? Because one of the biggest drivers behind the drop in gas prices is the rise in directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) here at home. While the…

If you were to rank all the countries of the world based on their level of economic freedom, you’d think the United States would be a shoo-in for first place, right? Surely we would be at least somewhere in the top five.
We’re not. We’re not even in the top 10.
Because this isn’t a hypothetical question. Every year, the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal…

Many of us launch a new year with resolutions. We may not write out a formal list, but something about the arrival of Jan. 1 makes us want to do better. We start a diet or an exercise program. We read or pray more. We get organized.
Most of these improvements occur on the personal level. But what if we went beyond that? What if we decided to hold government to a higher…

When I heard that my friend Martin Anderson had died over the weekend, I gave thanks for his extraordinarily inquisitive mind and the critical role that an institution can play in advancing the cause of a free society. Martin was an economist and political scientist. Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where he was a senior fellow for more than 40 years, gave him…

With so many high-profile, headline-grabbing issues facing the incoming Congress, lawmakers might be tempted to ignore one of the most persistent problems in Washington: overspending.
How bad is it? In 2014, federal spending reached $3.5 trillion, and the one-year deficit was $486 billion. These huge numbers represent “a small and temporary improvement in the nation’s…

“What can we do to help?” Americans have been asking this question in one form or another from our very founding. For much of our history, the answer has come in the form of individual efforts, not government programs.
Fortunately, even in the age of big government, Americans still feel the urge to help. They ask what they can do. They volunteer.
They do it, of course,…

There are at least two things you can count on when it comes to Americans and Christmastime. One is that they like to put up Nativity scenes. The other is that they don’t like being told what to do, especially by outsiders.
So you can imagine how the residents of an Indiana town feel about a Wisconsin-based atheist group demanding that they remove the Nativity scene they…

It’s one thing to experience “buyer’s remorse” when the product is something you can return easily, from new clothes to a set of high-end speakers. It’s another when you’re talking about your state’s educational standards.
Yet more and more states are finding that there’s simply no living with Common Core. Parents, teachers, students and lawmakers have become…

Mention Hawaii to most people, and they think of sand and surf. But this sun-drenched vacation mecca is also home to one of the most infamous events in history: the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.
Early that morning, waves of fighter planes swept eastward and bombed the American installation, sinking four of the eight U.S. battleships…

If you’re like most Americans, you haven’t been questioning the welcome drop in gasoline prices. You just fill ‘er up and feel grateful that you’re spending less.
Why has this remarkable drop come about? And what can we do to help keep prices lower?
Some of it, unfortunately, is beyond our control. Worldwide demand for oil is down now. That always causes the cost of…

It’s easy for Thanksgiving to boil down to little more than turkey, football and travel delays, but many Americans strive to make it more meaningful. They try to take the focus off of our problems and to reflect on our many blessings.
As well they should. Consider the example set by Abraham Lincoln. Our 16th president was in the middle of a bloody and protracted civil…

Ready to pay more for Internet access? Me neither.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we can expect under the “net neutrality” rules being pushed by President Obama.
“Net neutrality” may sound harmless, but there would be nothing neutral about this change. Currently, broadband providers such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast are treated differently than traditional telephone…

ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with hundreds of thousands of individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, has a staff of 275 and an annual expense budget of $82.4 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More